


The Book of Zzz

by GemNika



Category: Fairy Tail
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Cuddling & Snuggling, Explicit Sexual Content, F/M, Mildly Dubious Consent, Post-Tartaros Arc (Fairy Tail), Shameless Smut, Tartaros Demons Are Good Guys, Vines as Bondage
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-03-04
Updated: 2019-08-01
Packaged: 2019-11-09 09:42:06
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 2
Words: 16,215
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17999441
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/GemNika/pseuds/GemNika
Summary: While on their first interguild mission together, Jackal goes out of control and Lucy is the only one there to stop him. What happens when she's nearly killed by the demon who wanted to make amends? And why is Mard Geer so adamant about making sure she heals properly?





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

  * For [MadSoullessQueen](https://archiveofourown.org/users/MadSoullessQueen/gifts).



**A/N: So.. this happened. We need more MardLu in the world, so it's about time I got some out of my fingers. Between that and realizing that I'd started writing this and never finished it, and one of my strongest enablers is** _**MadSoullessQueen** _ **… I'm surprised I didn't actually finish this bitch sooner.**

**Those of you who have read my** _**Writing Corner** _ **will recognize the beginning of this story from the "Writer's Block" chapter.**

**Let's get down to business, shall we?**

* * *

Things had been going so well for her up until that point. The demons of Tartaros had turned over a new leaf and they were allies. In a sense. They weren't enemies any longer, so Lucy had been counting it as a win. And she'd actually been enjoying her time with Jackal on a cooperative mission between their guilds - the first of many, Makarov had been hoping - all the way through a creepy forest and disgusting marsh that smelled like rotten fish and moldy fries.

She still wasn't sure why it had smelled like fries.

But as she jumped to one side to avoid being hit with an explosion from the demon who'd been her partner, Lucy really couldn't find it in herself to care about the smell of the marsh. "Jackal!" she shrieked, covering her head to protect it from falling debris. "Jackal, stop!"

They'd long since passed his wild, maniacal cackling phase and now she was faced with his Etherious form.

Gone were his golden human eyes and the familiar line of his jaw. Now, pure white glared down at her from above a furry, snarling muzzle. He didn't speak anymore. Now it was all growls and too-fast slashes from his claws. Random explosions lighting up the night and surrounding her in a fiery flurry.

"Just calm down!" she shouted. "You don't have to do this! We can get someone to change you back and stop the - ACK!"

Lucy dodged another attack, feeling the ends of her hair crinkling from the fire that licked at her side. She crashed to the ground and scrambled to find some strategy she could use to get away. Just enough for her to keep him back.

That small distraction was enough for him though. Jackal channeled his curse into the knee he'd shattered nearly a year prior, still feeling his connection to the joint even after all this time. Lucy screeched in agony as an explosion blew her reformed kneecap apart, splitting the skin and sending thick trails of blood streaking down her leg. It was nearly enough to send her spiralling into unconsciousness, even as he came closer. Close enough for his clawed hand to wind around her throat and lift her writhing body into the air. For his hot, foul breath to feather across her face.

"J-Jackal, please…" The growl he let loose vibrated through her whole body, and his hand tightened until her vision was tinged with wriggling grey webs along the edges of her periphery. That witch who'd cast the spell on Jackal when she realized he was a demon… this was all that witch's fault. If only they'd thought of some way to counteract this.

Jackal's head tipped back and he roared into the sky. His free hand lifted with his curse seal wavering in the air just in front of it. He brought it to her face as her arms grew heavy and her legs stopped kicking fruitlessly at his solid, furry stomach.

"J...a…" Her eyelids fluttered as the his curse mark heated up against her cheek.

If they'd thought something like this might happen, she would've been prepared. A contingency. Something…

Anything…

Anything but this…

Not again…

* * *

Coal-black eyes narrowed with distaste as he watched the rabbit-eared demon lean over the examination table with a pillow in her hands. "Lamy."

Just a single word, and she froze just before bringing the pillow down onto Lucy's sleeping face. Lamy's eyes grew wide and horrified. Her muttered words about some unnecessarily deep-seated hatred for the blonde ended on a rasping wheeze.

Mard Geer strode across the laboratory at a leisurely pace until he stood beside the table holding their human guest. The only sounds accompanying his steps were the quiet hums of machinery, and some incessant dripping. His lip nearly curled with disgust when he realized the source of the sound was their guest. Specifically, her human blood trailing down from the knee that Jackal had blown apart - the injury that Lamy was supposed to be dealing with.

"How long has she been here?" He already knew the answer.

"Th-Three…"

"Did you stutter?" Mard raised a brow as Lamy's back stiffened. She stood at attention, her personality shifting to that of a seasoned soldier, following a commander's orders.

"Three hours, sir!"

"So this human has been bleeding on the table for three hours."

"I was just about to-"

"Disobey me," he finished for her. "I see that."

Lamy shrieked when his hand lifted and thorns sprung from beneath the floor, impaling her and sending her hurtling through the air. Mard looked down at Lucy again while the lifeless demon corpse splattered against a wall.

"Lamy, come here," he sighed. Almost instantly, another of Lamy's clones stepped out from behind a large glass cylinder. Of course it was the one holding Jackal's regenerating body. She was disgustingly obsessed with him. "Fix this human. I will not repeat myself again."

"Yes, sir!"

He turned toward the cylinder holding Jackal. Mard Geer was tempted to punish him for what he'd done at the behest of some lowly human witch. Except he'd already dealt with Jackal.

It had been a most unpleasant experience, feeling the ripple of power through his psyche that signalled Jackal's consciousness trying to get his attention. And what Mard Geer had found had angered him to the point of intervening himself.

" _Mard, I'm so sorry!" Jackal shouted into his mind. "I can't stop. I'm trying, and it worked a little bit, but I'm killing Lucy! I can't stop!"_

It hadn't made sense at first, but the disjointed thoughts from his subordinate had - in his mind - warranted a quick trip out to where the job with Fairy Tail's Celestial mage had taken them. And what he'd found was Jackal's etherious form ready to make her head explode. The remedy to that predicament had been Mard Geer rushing forward and snapping Jackal's arm in half, then forcing his explosive curse mark up to his snarling muzzle. Jackal's head exploded, and his limp hand dropped Lucy's unconscious body to the ground. And while his golden fur dissipated into etherion and returned to the guild for Lamy to reconstruct his body, Mard Geer had bent down and picked up the little human wizard. He'd carried her back to Tartaros himself.

"Sir," Lamy said softly, gaining his attention again, "How fixed would you like?"

He knew she wanted to experiment on Lucy. Torture her. They wouldn't do that to their allies. Fairy Tail's acceptance of the demons' continued existence meant they didn't need to fight against the humans. They all had a common enemy now. It wouldn't do for them to destroy that still budding alliance by turning one of their prized members into some hellish monster.

And the last thing he wanted was to hear that damned Celestial Spirit King yelling. It was hell on the eardrums.

"She is to remain human," he finally said. He paused, then added, "And not deformed." With that, he swept away from the laboratory, leaving Lamy to her work. He would check back in an hour to make sure their guest had been healed.

* * *

Her eyes opened slowly to find darkness around her. Was this what it was like to be dead? Heaviness on her chest, pressing her down into something feathery and plush? Did the afterlife smell like incense and flowers? If that was the case, then she really wasn't all that opposed to it. It was definitely loads better than the smell of marsh and smoke that she'd been inhaling before losing consciousness.

The soft crinkle of a page turning had Lucy's head turning toward the sound. Mard Geer Tartaros sat primly in a regal wingback chair, a small oil lamp beside him casting just enough light for him to be able to read the thick tome in his hands. The flames flickered eerily across his face, sending chills down her spine. Reformed guild or not, he still gave her the creeps. He was far too stone-faced, and she hated the way it made her instantly think back to high society gatherings when his chin lifted a fraction of an inch while he spoke to someone he deemed beneath him.

Which was everyone who existed, from what she'd seen.

"You should not be conscious right now," he said, never looking away from his book.

Lucy winced. "Humans are stubborn." She wanted to sit up and get out of there. And she wanted more than anything to check on Jackal, to make sure he was alright. Considering she was still very much alive, that had to mean that he'd stopped himself from actually killing her. More than likely, Jackal was acting like a kicked puppy over what had happened though, and she wanted him to know that she didn't hate him.

Because even though it was just a little strange to have been working so closely with the demon who'd tried to kill her - and who'd cackled so loudly over her torture at his hands… claws?... no, they'd been hands at that point - over the course of their short mission, Lucy had come to realize that Jackal was actually oddly sweet, in his own way. He was still very much a crazed lunatic when he really got into something (like making things explode), but something about the way his ears lowered and his tail swished just a little when he was uncomfortable had her wanting to pet him.

"Petting demons is a horrible idea."

She frowned over at Mard Geer, only to find him still reading.

"There are a great number who would rather bite off your arm."

"Jackal wouldn't," she said, just a little defensively. The whole mind-reading thing that he had going on was no secret. Natsu, and even Sting and Rogue, had told everyone about it when they'd learned that the demons of Tartarus hadn't actually died.

"Jackal is tame."

Lucy wanted to snort at that. Except then Mard Geer finally looked away from his book to stare at her with such derisiveness, that she found herself wanting to shrink down beneath the covers. How had he accomplished that with no actual expression on his face? He didn't blink for far longer than any human could manage. Just seeing his eyes staying open and locked onto her for so long had Lucy's own eyes feeling dry and scratchy. She blinked, and found him still staring at her, so she blinked again. Just for him. Because he was apparently not going to do it himself, and it was seriously stressing her out.

"You should rest," he finally said.

"I feel rested enough," she said. "And I should probably call Master Makarov, and-"

Mard Geer didn't move as she tried to sit up. It definitely hurt from her hip down to her knee, but Lucy had been through worse. She pushed past the discomfort, and threw back the heavy blanket, then her eyes widened when she saw the utter havoc that had been wrought on her thigh. Stitches ran all across her leg, even down under her knee. The skin was red, puffy, and when she tried to shift it just a little bit, a strangled cry of agony ripped its way up her throat.

"Ah, I see what Lamy meant," Mard Geer said, peering at her leg. "Your human body really is not capable of bearing that much stress."

"H-Huh?" she whimpered. She couldn't breathe. Looking at the damage she'd sustained was making the room far too hot. She officially had a Frankenstein Leg. The mottled purple bruises around her knee had her wondering if she would ever be able to walk again. Based on how this looked, she was going to forever be a cripple with a gimp little leg.

"I was informed that you would need time to recuperate before she could operate again," he elaborated. "She assured me this would not be the final product."

"Wha…" They were going to have to change her name to Tiny Tim. She was going to need a gnarled little crutch to prop herself up while hobbling from one place to another. God, her leg was never going to be the same again, and was this room getting too hot? It was stifling. Each short breath she pulled in felt as though she was trying to suck it in through a pillow. One that was being sat on by a great white shark.

Wait, why would a shark be sitting on a pillow?

It wasn't until that doubtful little question crossed her mind that Lucy realized her vision was blurry. She was freaking the hell out, and by that point it was far too late to do anything about it.

Distantly, she welcomed the oblivion that wrapped around her as she lost consciousness. It was a whole lot better than staring at that monstrosity of an appendage, attached to her hip.

She didn't hear the way her demon host sighed while returning his attention to his book. "Humans are so fragile," Mard Geer muttered. "And here I was, looking forward to my afternoon nap."

Lucy was also blissfully unaware of the fact that she was passed out in his own personal bed, and that two of Lamy's clones in a row got the axe - literally - when they'd inquired as to his reasoning for keeping a healing human in his bed when there were perfectly acceptable cots in the laboratory.

* * *

She woke up again two hours later, not that she knew it had only been two hours. Before Lucy had time to flip out over her Ragdoll Sally leg, her eyes opened to find Jackal's face only inches away from hers. She should have screamed right away, but she was more concerned with this oddly confused expression scrunching his muzzle, how his head had tilted just a fraction of an inch, and the fact that he was leaning over her and breathing the same air as her.

Just when she pulled in a breath to ask him what the hell was going on - and to make sure he was alright, once she knew why he was creeping all over her in her sleep - his hand shot up and covered her mouth.

Maybe she should have been more wary of him touching her, considering what he was capable of with his Curse. Any normal person would have shuddered over the increased temperature of his dark fingers wrapping around their cheeks.

Lucy wasn't. Instead, she was patient while he turned her head to the side, away from where he leaned over her and toward the center of the bed. She was even less prepared for what she saw.

Mard Geer Tartaros slept beside her, curled up on his side beneath the blanket. His long indigo tresses had been freed from his usual ponytail. In his arms there was a book, except… it wasn't the book he always carried around. It looked… Lucy squinted and tried to focus on just what he was holding a little more, because surely she was seeing things. But no… the more she focused, the more clear it became that Mard Geer was actually, legitimately, one-hundred percent snuggling with an oversized book plush with an embroidered  _Book of Zzz_  on the front instead of  _Book of_   _E.N.D._

When she heard him take a deep, sleepy breath, and watched his cheeks puff out as he exhaled, she nearly laughed out loud. If Jackal hadn't clamped his hand over her mouth even tighter, she probably would have.

"Don't wake him up from a nap," Jackal breathed. "Ever."

Lucy wanted to ask why it was such a bad idea to wake Mard Geer up. Why Jackal sounded absolutely terrified by the prospect of cutting the demon's naps short. Also, why would Mard Geer take naps in the first place? Honestly, it was such an oddly human thing for him to do, and Lucy was positive that he still actually hated humans with every molecule of his being.

Mard Geer smacked his lips, and slowly nuzzled the plush in his arms. He looked almost angelic, sleeping next to her like this with his long lashes resting so delicately along his high cheekbones. "Jackal," Mard Geer muttered, his eyes never opening, "Get your hands off of her."

Lucy's eyes widened as Jackal's hand quickly left her face.

Mard Geer hummed and mumbled something unintelligible, then added more clearly. "I  _will_  kill you again if you don't leave my room." Lucy was highly unnerved by the sleepy, serene smile that barely curved up his lips when Jackal whimpered behind her.

She turned back to look at Jackal. "Does he talk in his sleep?" she whispered.

Surprisingly, Jackal nodded. "I'm not taking any chances though," he said. The soft scratch of vines along the walls had his fur standing on end. He stood to his full height and dashed from the room with his tail literally between his legs. After a moment, he peeked only his sheepishly grinning snout back into the doorway. "Also, uh… Sorry about your leg. My bad?"

Lucy didn't have a chance to say anything in response before he was gone again and the door was silently closing behind him. Granted, she didn't really have anything to respond  _with_ , but that wasn't the point. Besides, as she laid their in the bed next to an unconscious demon king - at least, Lucy assumed Mard Geer was actually a demon king, what with all his pomp and grandeur during the war - she realized that Jackal apologizing over hurting her was actually a sign of his own personal growth. She was pretty proud of him for that.

Slowly, Lucy directed her attention to the ceiling above her. There wasn't really anything else for her to look at, and she wasn't going to just lie there and stare at Mard Geer. That would be beyond creepy.

It took a moment for her eyes to really adjust to what she was seeing. Mard Geer didn't have a canopy over his bed like a normal person - which shouldn't have been surprising, since he wasn't even a  _person_. No, instead there were thorned vines hanging over their heads, and wrapped up in those vines was the book he always carried around with him.

The  _Book of E.N.D._  was right there, within arm's reach. If she was so inclined, Lucy could probably brave the thorns on those vines and take the book for herself. Except, she wasn't all that interested in taking the book. She didn't even know what it was for, or why it was so important to him in the first place. Maybe, if she was going to be stuck here for a while, she would find some way to ask him about it, but… well, she wasn't all that confident in that ever actually happening.

After some indeterminable amount of time, Lucy started getting stir-crazy. She wanted to move around, but the pain in her leg that was nothing more than a dull ache at the moment would double her over in an instant. She was sure of it. Still, she needed to do something. She was restless, and maybe it was a bit of Natsu rubbing off on her, but she didn't want to just lie around and not  _do something_.

When she shifted just a little, that familiar sharp pain seared down the length of her thigh, pulling a quiet hiss from her. She turned her attention back to Mard Geer, her eyes wide and horrified when she realized that Jackal had never told her just why he was so scared of waking the demon from a nap. Luckily, she kept her screams to herself, but apparently that one small noise was enough to rouse the demon beside her.

"S-Sorry," she whimpered as his eyes slid open to small, tired slits.

Mard Geer sighed through his nose and closed his eyes again. "You move too much. If necessary, I will hold you down myself to promote proper healing."

Lucy squeaked in alarm at the mental image of him pinning her to the bed. She definitely blamed Erza and Cana for the lewd turn her thoughts took. There was no way she'd actually do something like  _that_  with him.

His eyes opened once more to peer at her, and his brows furrowed only slightly. Slowly, his grip on the book plush loosened and he pushed it toward her. "This will help you relax."

Lucy blinked in surprise when he fell asleep instantly. She could just barely hear his soft snores filling the air between them. Still, she held onto the book plush and pulled it to her chest, her fingers brushing across the soft fabric and delicately embroidered letters on the cover. "What the hell?" she muttered to herself.

This was beyond reasoning. Clearly, she was in some sort of messed up dream, and she would wake up back in the Fairy Tail infirmary, or even in her own bed. No way in hell was this actually happening.

"Not a dream," Mard Geer sighed.

"Are you even sleeping?" she hissed, glaring at him. "Because it sounds like you're doing this to mess with me."

He didn't respond. He didn't move aside from the slow rise and fall of his even breaths. If he really was asleep though… Lucy moved again, but didn't make a single sound that would wake up her bed companion. It was barely enough to make the blanket covering both of them shift, but Mard Geer let out a heavy sigh and wrapped his arms around her. He didn't move her closer to him - and she was pretty thankful for it, since her leg hurt enough as it was - but slid across the space between them until he was pressed flush against her side, and his head rested on her shoulder.

"Now stay still," he mumbled.

"But I-"

"I'm not opposed to taxidermy," he yawned. "Do you need to be stuffed?"

Lucy went rigid, her eyes widening in horror. "N-No…"

The fact that he simply smiled and snuggled against her chest didn't make her feel any safer. Not even the fact that she realized his hair smelled like dark, exotic roses could help her relax. Instead, Lucy spent the next several hours staring at the thorny vines above them, holding the  _Book of E.N.D._ , and wondering how long she was going to be used as a body pillow for the King of the Underworld, Mard Geer Tartaros.


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> As payment for her fabulous gradient (and other) skills, this chapter is dedicated to MadSoullessQueen. I hope you enjoy!

Lucy bit her lips and closed her eyes, willing her bladder to stop screaming. Something had to give. If she didn't find a bathroom and get herself to it soon, she was going to piss all over Mard Geer's bed. And she was positive that the still-sleeping King of the Underworld wouldn't appreciate waking up in a piddle puddle of the human variety.

The thought had her snickering. And then she regretted it when the increased pressure nearly had her urethra bursting. Damnit. This wasn't good.

She knew that she wasn't supposed to wake him up, but… she didn't want to pee the bed. She hadn't done that since she was a small child, still learning how to use the toilet instead of diapers.

"U-Um," she breathed, "Mard Geer?"

He hummed and nuzzled his relaxed face against the top of her breast.

"I hate to wake you," she continued, keeping her voice as soft as possible. Maybe if she eased him back into the waking world, he wouldn't turn into that crazy armored demonic monstrosity Natsu had told her about, and murder her.

"Too polite," he sighed.

"Huh?" She craned her neck to try and get a clearer view of his face, but at some point he'd curled up in a little ball next to her and decided to use her boob as a pillow to replace the one she was still holding. He didn't say anything. "Anyway, I have to use the restroom. It's becoming an emergency."

"No emergency," he mumbled. His arm slid up her stomach and between her breasts, and his soft fingers clumsily pressed against her lips. Her eyes widened when one fingertip ended up in her nose. "Shhh…"

"Get your finger out of my nose."

"Get your nose off of my finger," he countered around a yawn. "It's revolting… and so…"

She blinked, waiting for him to finish. It was only polite, after all.

"..."

"So…?" This was officially stressing her out. She had to know what he was going to say.

Mard snored softly, curling up into a smaller ball than before. She winced when his knees dug into her hip. "Moist," he finally sighed.

She nearly laughed at how disgusted he sounded. But her bladder wasn't going to be ignored. This had to get handled. Right then. Lucy tried to simply push him off of her, that way she could roll away and scream in agony into the mattress. Shit. Her leg was still fucked up ten ways to Sunday. She couldn't even drag herself over to the edge of the bed, let alone a bathroom. And she didn't even know where the bathroom  _was_  in this place. Or if demons even used a toilet.

She glanced at him again. His long lashes and delicate cheekbones.

What sort of face might the great Mard Geer make while dropping a deuce?

Was he just as blank a slate while cursing the constipation gods and begging for sweet relief from the stabbing pain of a stubborn gas bubble in his intestines? Did he simply intimidate his bowels into submission by glaring at his belly button? Did he even  _have_  a belly button? That would mean he'd had an umbilical cord, and a placenta of some sort to feed off of during his gestation.

"There's something seriously wrong with me," she muttered.

"You're not quiet enough," Mard mumbled. "That's what's wrong with you."

"If you're awake enough to talk, then help me get to a bathroom!" she whisper-shouted at the top of his head. Her only response was more light snoring. "Fantastic. Just fan-flipping-tastic. I'm gonna pee all over a demon…"

She would be damned if that happened. In more ways than one, probably. Lucy's lips thinned as she clutched the book plush and lifted it into the air. This worked with Natsu when he crept into her bed and refused to wake up. It had to work on this demon, too. With all the force she could muster, Lucy smacked Mard Geer in the head with the pillow.

Nothing. No response.

"Oh, come on!" she groaned. Without thinking, Lucy chucked the stupid  _Book of Zzz_  plush across the room in her frustration. She had no idea what was over there as it sailed through the air.

She did, however, find out rather quickly when she heard something that sounded distinctly ceramic in nature crash to the ground.

Mard sat up in the bed, glaring at the far wall with bleary eyes. Before she had time to register that he was even sitting up, that she could finally  _move_ , hundreds of thick vines covered in thorns crashed through the ceiling and decimated the entire wall opposite his bed.

Lucy screamed as the stone came crumbling down, and did her level best to get the hell out of there before the whole building could collapse on top of them. The blanket draped over her had other plans. She was sure, as she slipped off the edge of the bed face-first into the floor, the bedding was sentient and plotting against her.

She wasn't sure which hurt more, the pain searing down her leg from her hip, or the growing lump in the center of her forehead. What was she sure of, however, was that her legs were tangled in the comforter, and still very much on the bed. And that she was stuck.

"What the fuck?!"

She blinked at the sound of Jackal's oddly shrill screech coming from somewhere near the destroyed wall. Lucy turned her head and squinted through the settling dust, and the blood drained from her face when she saw the blond demon sitting on a toilet with his pants around his furry ankles, his tail curled up by his back, and a magazine in his hands.

Their eyes locked, and Jackal snarled at her. "I told you not to wake him up!" he bellowed.

She was beyond freaked out now. "Are you… pooping?" she asked.

"Not anymore!" Jackal yelled. "Fucking hell! You  _literally_  scared the shit out of me!"

Her head turned toward the bed, and she squeaked when she saw Mard Geer peering over the edge of the mattress, his half-lidded eyes barely aware as he looked at her. "Why are you trying to seduce me in my own bed?" he yawned.

"Uh…" Lucy frowned. "You made me sleep here…" Did he not realize that  _he_  was the one using  _her_  as a damn pillow? Also, that he had the boniest knees in existence, and she could already feel a bruise forming from where they'd been digging into her?

Mard's lips pursed in thought. "You will make sense after coffee…"

She whimpered when he disappeared. She could feel the blanket shifting, but she wasn't sure if he was trying to go back to sleep, or if he was getting up. Either way, being upside down was doing her bladder no favors. "Can someone help me?" she asked. "I really have to pee!"

Her jaw dropped when she looked back over to the decimated wall and found Jackal still sitting on the toilet, fully focused on his magazine once more.

"I thought you didn't have to poo anymore!" she shouted.

Jackal turned the page. "Don't watch," he grunted. "I can't do it if you're watching."

Her life had been turned completely upside down, in more ways than one. All she could hope was that someone would help her get free and onto a freaking toilet before she gave herself a golden shower.

* * *

It wasn't until Mard Geer was really awake with a steaming cup of coffee in his hand that he considered the condition of Lucy's leg. He knew that Lamy hadn't needed to stitch her up. The strange little demon hadn't used a needle and thread for injuries in at least a century. Not since she'd created the large chambers that pulled in ethernano and replenished their bodies.

After a little bit of research on healing magic - which he took the time to do while Lucy was in his own personal bathroom, far away from Jackal - Mard Geer realized that the reconstitution chambers could also heal her leg. Easily.

They'd been used to turn humans into bastardized demons before. That one Minerva girl had been a prime example of its success. She would have died during the procedure, had it not been for the chamber. Lamy knew that.

Now that Mard Geer was more awake… He knew that, too.

She'd put one of their allies through unnecessary pain for no real reason that he could see. Was it jealousy? Something else? Mard Geer didn't really care how she tried to justify it. This torture was pointless.

He'd given very clear instructions about the little human's care. She was to remain human, and not deformed. It had been explicit and concise. Lamy was  _not_  supposed to disobey him. His eyes flashed a murderous red where he sat in his plush reading chair. He pressed two fingers to his temple and sent out a collective message to all the demons present.

" _All members of Tartaros will adjourn in the laboratory immediately with their respective books. Torafuzar, meet me at my chambers."_

He smirked when he heard how the demons scrambled to stop whatever they were doing, then making their way to the laboratory. He could nearly taste the fear in the air as they wondered why they needed to have their summoning books with them, but it only fueled his rage more. Mard Geer stood from his seat when Torafuzar finally arrived outside his bedroom door.

"Enter," he said. He directed vines across the room to fix his bedding and begin reconstructing the wall that separated his room from the bathroom Jackal had been using.

Torafuzar opened the door and stepped inside, then he waited for Mard Geer to address him again.

"Our human guest is likely finished in the restroom," Mard Geer said, his gaze trailing over his room once again. He walked over to the broken vase and watched as small vines collected the shattered ceramic, sweeping it away. "She is unable to walk, so you will need to carry her to the laboratory."

Torafuzar nodded and walked toward the bathroom door. He knocked three times.

Luy called out a timid,  _"Who is it?"_

"Torafuzar," he said. "When you're decent, let me know. I've been tasked with carrying you to the laboratory for treatment."

" _O-Oh… Thank you!"_

Mard Geer turned toward the door, pausing when he realized he'd already finished his second cup of coffee. He took a minute to prepare another full, steaming cup, then left the room with the Book of E.N.D. clutched against his chest and the sound of Torafuzar opening the bathroom door to fetch their human guest fading behind him. This was why he hated being woken up from naps.

Everything went wrong if he didn't get enough sleep.

And to realize so late that Lamy had directly and blatantly disobeyed his orders was a slight that Mard Geer couldn't abide. All of the demons under him needed to learn a very valuable lesson that day.

He was Mard Geer Tartaros, King of the Underworld, and his word was law. To think some lowly creature would dare to defy him. His teeth ground together and his footsteps thundered down the hall as he made his way to the laboratory.

Lamy was going to pay dearly for this.

It would take some creativity on his part to come up with the perfect punishment, but the anticipation was part of the fun. Toying with Lamy's fear of retribution could work to his advantage. By the time he reached the laboratory, all of the Demons of Tartaros were present with their respective books held tightly in their arms.

Jackal's tail swished from one side to the other, and his ears laid flat against his head when Mard Geer entered the room. Ezel, Franmalth, and Keyes stood with no expressions, not that he expected much from them. Tempester, Kyoka, and Seilah had the grace to bow their heads while he walked past them to stand before Lamy.

Mard Geer's eyes narrowed. "I expect your true body here," he said. "Bring another clone before me, and the consequences will be dire."

The clone-Lamy squeaked and rushed off further into the laboratory, dashing around the cylindrical restoration chambers to find the original Lamy. Moments later, she appeared, grinning at the gathered demons and tugging lightly on one of her bunny ears. "Sorry," she laughed. "I was researching-"

"No one fucking cares," Jackal sneered. He glanced at Mard Geer, then clamped his lips shut and lowered his head. Such an obedient demon. Mard Geer would have to make sure he rewarded Jackal for that soon.

Torafuzar carried their human guest into the laboratory, pausing at the doorway to await further instruction.

"Here," Mard Geer said, nodding to a nearby examination table. Once Torafuzar laid her down, he moved to stand with the rest of the demons. Mard Geer ignored Lucy's questioning stare at the group, noticing out of the corner of his eye how Lamy's body grew more rigid at her appearance there. "Tell me… Who makes the decisions for the Demons of Tartaros?"

"Mard Geer Tartaros," the demons replied in unison.

"And when I give an order, how is it to be followed, Keyes?"

"To the letter," Keyes said, bowing his skeletal head.

Mard Geer nodded, turning his attention to Jackal. "Anything to add?"

Jackal flinched, his shoulders hunching slightly and his tail swishing behind him again. "Without hesitation…?"

"Ezel, what happens to those who disobey me?" he asked.

"We fuckin' kill 'em," he said, grinning wickedly. His tentacles rippled on the floor to demonstrate his excitement at the prospect of having a decent fight.

Mard Geer took a sip of his coffee, letting the heat from the mug seep into his hand to temper the burning rage swirling between his brows. His expression was carefully blank as he took two measured steps closer to their human guest. "And what, Kyoka, do you believe should be done to someone who threatens the alliance that I have forged with the humans?"

"Torture," she said, smiling as she met his heavy gaze.

He nodded. "A wise choice. Murder would be too simple for someone who disobeys me. There is no lesson to be learned." He paused to look at each of the demons lined up before him. "You will all set your books on this table," he said, gesturing to the empty space beside Lucy. "You will no longer hold your own fates in your hands. I have clearly given you too much leniency."

He could see how they bristled with rage at the prospect of having to relinquish their minimal freedom to him, but they were silent as they made their way closer to Lucy's table. Mard Geer watched each of them place their heavy tomes on the stainless steel, with Lamy lagging behind the others.

Once they were all lined up again, a thin smile that sent visible chills down the demons' spines curled his lips. "You are entitled to know why this has happened," he said. His gaze shifted to Lamy. "Would you care to explain?"

"M-Me?" she whimpered, her eyes suddenly wide.

"I do not repeat myself," he said, his smile widening just slightly. "Do tell the others how you have disobeyed me, Lamy."

"I-I uh…" Lamy let out a quiet, uneasy laugh. "I don't know what you're talking about…?"

The fire burning in his chest roared with enough intensity that his hands clenched into fists as power leaked from around him. His favorite coffee mug shattered in his hand, sending the scorching liquid cascading down his fingers. "Do not lie," he said, his voice calm and quiet. The binding for the Book of E.N.D. creaked in his tightened grasp.

"I r-really don't know what you mean!" Lamy squeaked. Her head turned one way and another when the other demons scattered to the far edges of the laboratory as Mard Geer took a step closer. "Honest! I don't know-"

He shook the ceramic handle from around his fingers and pointed toward Lucy as he stormed over to the cowering rabbit-eared demon. "You subjected my human to undue torture, in direct opposition of my orders to have her healed quickly!"

"I-I didn't mean-"

"Silence!" he bellowed. "Did I not tell you to ensure she was not deformed?" He would have smiled when she bowed on her hands and knees in front of him, but he couldn't. Not then. Instead, Mard Geer brought his foot down onto her ears, twisting his heel just to hear the sweet sound of her agonized scream. "Look at her! Tell me you healed her to the best of your ability!"

"I'm sorry!" Lamy shrieked. "I'm sorry, sir!"

"Sorry can't help you now!"

Off to the side, Jackal stared at the scene with wide, horrified eyes that slid over toward Lucy. She sat on the table, stock still and slack-jawed, taking in the way Mard Geer stomped on Lamy's stomach while keeping her ears pinned to the ground. Jackal crept over to the Celestial mage and lightly touched her trembling hand with its bright pink Fairy Tail mark. "Hey, it's okay."

"Is it?" she breathed. "Jackal…"

He grinned when she turned to look at him instead. "This is normal," he said, then frowned. "Well, kinda."

"Huh?"

He glanced back at Mard Geer, cringing when he saw the Definitive Demon dragging Lamy up by her ears and roughly shaking her. "He's never done something like this over a human before."

"Well, he said it himself," Lucy tried to reason. "He made an alliance with my guild, and… I guess this makes him look bad."

His frown deepened as Lamy's limp body slammed against the ground, then his attention shifted back to the blonde beside him. There had to be something special about her. Something that Mard Geer had picked up on, even if he didn't realize it. Because Jackal was positive that he hadn't been hearing things when Mard Geer had said  _my human_. But there was no real reason for him to say it. Lucy didn't belong to him.

Jackal was positive that Mard Geer still hated humans. He simply tolerated them as a means of survival.

At least, that was what Jackal had thought up until recently. Because if he didn't care about humans, then Mard Geer wouldn't have carried Lucy back to their guild himself, or taken her to his bed to sleep after Lamy finished operating on her. He wouldn't have slept in the same bed as her for his nap, either. He definitely wouldn't have started acting like this if he didn't care.

But did Lucy need to know all that?

She had enough on her plate as it was.

"I mean, it is kinda sweet that he cares so much," Lucy said.

"I promise! I won't do anything to hurt her!" Lamy screeched when Mard Geer ripped one of her ears off and shoved the bloody, furry appendage in her mouth.

Jackal turned to find her cringing at the sight before them. "And scary as hell… Jesus," she whimpered.

"I don't know who this Jesus person is," he chuckled. "But I don't think he's saving anyone today."

It was a definite treat to hear her quiet laugh when their eyes locked again. "Very funny, Jackal," she said. Jackal's tail wagged. They turned to watch Mard Geer drop Lamy to the floor. Kyoka rushed forward at his command and dragged the limp demon out of the laboratory to continue her torture elsewhere.

Mard Geer turned back toward Lucy, his face eerily calm. He blinked slowly when he saw Jackal standing next to her, then set his attention on Seilah. "Have her moved to the restoration chamber," he said. "Inform me when the process is complete."

With that, he turned to leave the laboratory, then paused.

"Jackal, bring those books."

Lucy bit her lips to stop from laughing when Jackal's claws scraped along the floor as he dashed around the table to grab the demons' books from beside her. They were definitely an odd bunch.

* * *

_Tick. Tock._

Two days had come and gone, with Lucy spending that time floating in one of the cylindrical restoration chambers to heal her damaged leg. Mard Geer went about business as usual. Seilah watched over their guest diligently - not that anyone needed to worry, considering Kyoka was  _still_  in the process of torturing Lamy, and thoroughly enjoying herself - and had assured him that he would be informed once Lucy's treatment was complete.

_Tick. Tock._

It was just after his afternoon nap, while he sipped at his second cup of dark roast coffee from some lesser coffee mug - because he'd broken his favorite mug and there was just no way he could replace it - that the large lacrima orb sitting on the arm of his throne started to glow.

His lips pursed. Odd. No one knew of his continued existence. And the demons knew they didn't need to use such barbaric forms of communication to get in touch with him. His free hand slid toward it, and his thumb brushed across the surface to reveal an old, weathered face with thick white eyebrows and a cheshire grin.

"Ah, Makarov," he said, giving a slow blink.

_Tick._

" _Mard Geer,"_  Makarov chuckled.  _"It's been a bit since Lucy left on that mission with Jackal."_  Mard Geer paused in sipping at his coffee, his eyes narrowing slightly. "Is there something we should be worried about?"

_Tock. Tick._

He wanted to be frustrated. Mard Geer was sure that he'd told Jackal to inform her guild of what had happened, and the measures they were taking to heal her, once his body had been restored. Except, when he thought about it, he'd most likely told Lamy to have Jackal do it. And if that was the case, then she'd more than likely refused to tell Jackal anything based solely on the fact that it involved Lucy.

"In short, no," he said. "She was injured due to unforeseen circumstances, and she is being treated as we speak." He glanced at the tall grandfather clock off to his left. Half past four in the afternoon. "From my understanding, her treatment will be finished within the hour."

" _How badly was she hurt?"_  Makarov asked, his brows drawing together when Mard Geer looked back at the lacrima.

Just before his lips could part, he heard frantic footsteps coming down the adjacent hall, closer to his throne room. Moments later, Jackal appeared, frazzled and wide-eyed as he rushed closer. "Sorry!" he shouted. "I know I'm not supposed to just barge in, but there's an emergency!"

Mard Geer gave him a slow blink in response. "I am busy," he said.

_Tick. Tock._

"It's Lucy," Jackal said quickly, and Mard Geer fought back the sudden tension growing between his shoulders that threatened to send him catapulting from his throne. "Kyoka says something's wrong, and her and Seilah are pulling her out. But she told me to come get you."

" _Mard Geer, what have you done with her?"_

His coal black eyes closed for a moment and he let out a heavy breath. If he'd had a soul, he was sure it would have gone right along with that air slipping from between his lips. "Jackal, be a good boy and explain to her guild master what has happened." Mard Geer stood from his throne and rotated the lacrima toward Jackal, whose tail swished with excitement. "I will go and resolve this."

"So, here's the deal," Jackal started. "Some human witch hit me with a hex thing, and then I went all Etherious on Lucy-"

Mard Geer shook his head and left his throne room, turning left down the hall to head to the laboratory. By the time he arrived, the lab was in complete disarray. Kyoka's clawed hands slammed down onto Lamy's keyboard in seemingly random patterns until the chamber holding Lucy's wildly thrashing body slid open. Of course, she hadn't drained the chamber first, so the liquid that was being used to hold Lucy inside spilled down onto the grated floor, then further down into the reservoir that he knew Lamy installed to collect and filter it for later use.

"Catch her!" Kyoka shouted to Seilah, who rushed forward just as Lucy tumbled out of the chamber. She caught the human girl moments before her trembling, naked body slammed into the metal grate.

Mard Geer watched, unaware of his jaw hanging open just slightly as Lucy curled into Seilah's embrace and moaned. The sound wasn't one of pleasure, though. He knew that. It was only confirmed when, with her next breath, she screamed as though thousands of thorns had pierced her flesh and started rending her in twain.

"Her sensitivity is too high," Seilah said, turning her attention to Kyoka. "Can you lower it?"

Kyoka's hand lifted toward Lucy, and Mard Geer felt the ripple of her Curse in the air. Lucy screamed louder, her voice cracked and raw. Jackal rushed into the room - Mard Geer could only assume he'd finished the call with Makarov as quickly as possible when he'd heard the little human screaming - and stared in horror as Lucy tried to claw her way out of Seilah's grasp.

"What the fuck are you doing?" Jackal snarled as he looked over to Kyoka. "Don't torture her!"

"I'm not, you stupid mutt!" Her brows drew together and she poured more power into her Curse. "I'm trying to make her calm down!"

Mard Geer sighed when Jackal stormed into the laboratory and sneered once he'd gotten well into Kyoka's personal bubble. If he wasn't careful, she'd turn her Curse on him. Jackal should have known that. And yet, it seemed he didn't care all that much. "Well, it looks like you're just fucking hurting her more! Lay off!"

Interesting. Jackal was getting very worked up over this little human girl.

Finally, he decided to end this. Her screaming was starting to grate on his eardrums. Mard Geer walked over to where Seilah and Lucy were kneeling on the ground. "Let her go, Seilah," he said.

She didn't hesitate, dropping her charge to the floor and crawling backwards away from him. He bent down and wrapped his fingers around Lucy's face, covering her mouth and muffling her louder screams as he lifted her into the air. She felt lighter than when he'd carried her back from that marsh. Had she lost weight?

"Stop this," he said. His eyes narrowed at the sight of tears streaming down her cheeks and onto his hand. "Fragile humans…"

"What the hell's going on?" Jackal yelled at Kyoka.

"I would like to know the same," Mard Geer said.

"I-I don't know. Lamy didn't say anything about this," Kyoka said.

"And this never happened when we experimented on other humans," Seilah added.

' _Hurts… Hurts everywhere… Stop!'_

Mard Geer set the Book of E.N.D. down on a nearby table, then lifted Lucy's trembling wrist using his thumb and forefinger. "Kyoka, I assume Lamy's still alive?" He just needed some hint to figure out what was wrong with her. Aside from hearing her thoughts concerning how much pain she was in.

"Yes, sir."

"Find out what is wrong with this human. If she has been damaged further, there will be consequences." He ignored Lucy's weak attempts at clawing at his arm while Kyoka and Seilah rushed out of the laboratory to question Lamy. There had to be some clue he was missing.

"Is… Is she gonna be okay?" Jackal whispered.

"For Lamy's continued existence, she had better be," Mard Geer growled. "What did you tell her guild master?"

"I hurt Lucy on accident, and we brought her back here to get patched up. But then Lamy started fucking around when you weren't paying attention, and hurt her more. So now it's getting handled the right way, and that you said it was our responsibility to help her, since she was hurt while working with me." He paused and frowned when Lucy's whole body shuddered. "He said he understood, but to let them know sooner if someone's hurt so he doesn't worry."

"Good. I will have to discuss this with him later."

' _Hurts! Make it stop!'_

" _Mard Geer, we know what's wrong,"_  came Seilah's calm voice through his head. Good. She wasn't wasting time with trying to rush back to the lab just to tell him what they could do to fix this. From what he could tell, she and Kyoka were already in the process of dragging Lamy to kneel before him and answer for what she'd done.  _"Kyoka is torturing Lamy for the misinformation as we speak. Apparently this is a common side effect with the restoration process, but Lamy adds several compounds to the ethernano used to heal us, and it counteracts this."_

" _Then we should give her those compounds now,"_  he replied.

" _I'm sorry, sir. She says it is too late for that. There is nothing left for us to do now. The human's nerves are firing off too quickly, and they will eventually overload her brain, making her catatonic."_

" _And there is no way to stop this?"_

He turned, still holding Lucy above the floor, when Kyoka stomped into the room. She held Lamy's one remaining ear tightly and dragged the sobbing demon past the examination tables and benches filled with vials. Kyoka sneered down at Lamy and whipped her head back so quickly that, if she hadn't been a demon, her neck would have snapped. "Tell them what you just told me," she spat.

Lamy's rope-bound hands lifted toward her head, and when Lucy let out a muffled shriek, her tears subsided far too quickly. The pained grimace melted into a wicked grin as her menacing glare fell on the blonde. "The pain will turn her brain to mush," Lamy laughed. "So unless you find a way to change her nerves around, there's nothing you can do!"

Mard Geer's eyes narrowed at her. "You know more than you are letting on," he said. "Speak the truth."

' _The only way she's getting out of here alive is if they can change that pain to pleasure. And since no demon would even consider it, she's as good as dead.'_

"Turn the pain to pleasure," he mused, watching as Lamy paled. "Kyoka."

She nodded and used her Curse on Lucy again, except this time, she tried changing the sensation in Lucy's body from pain to pleasure. He knew it wasn't something she was accustomed to doing, but she was capable. She had to be.

' _Curses won't work. This is genius! That will only speed things along!'_

"Why isn't it working?!" Jackal yelled when Lucy's back arched at an unnatural angle and her shrieking intensified.

"Stop," Mard Geer said quickly. When Kyoka's power dissipated, Lucy was left trembling in his grasp. Her toes barely scraped the floor. The only sounds coming from her now were soft, pained whimpers. He glared at Lamy's smirking face. "You say she has to experience pleasure instead of pain."

Jackal cringed. "Like… she has to…"

"Fuck a demon," Lamy cackled. Suddenly, Mard Geer wanted nothing more than to completely obliterate her. "Should we call Torafuzar? He'll listen if he's ordered to!"

Jackal visibly paled at the mental image of the sweet Celestial mage being bent over a table with the enormous demon thrusting his hips against her limp body.

That could never work. Torafuzar would follow his orders, but Mard Geer refused to have their human guest torn to pieces. His dark gaze slid sideways. "Seilah."

Seilah's eyes went wide. She looked from Mard Geer, down to Lucy's bare breasts and shivering thighs. "Um… I-I guess I can-"

"That won't work. Lucy's not gay," Jackal interjected with a shake of his head. When the other demons stared at him, he shrugged. "She talked about it while we were on the mission. Said she just broke up with her boyfriend a few weeks ago, and some chick named Cana offered to go 'muff-munching' or something…? Lucy said it was a hard pass."

Mard blinked slowly. "... What?"

Kyoka snorted. Of course she would understand what Jackal was talking about. Mard Geer would have ordered  _her_  to handle this, but she was going to be busy with torturing Lamy for quite some time. Seilah was the best option. She would be gentle with Lucy. "It seems a woman won't do, then," she said. "Which rules out myself and Seilah. And this one…" She stomped on Lamy's spine and channeled her curse, making the rabbit-eared demon shriek in agony louder than Lucy's own screams had been. "Shouldn't be anywhere near her."

Mard Geer nodded. He could understand, to a point. If Lucy wouldn't be aroused by a woman, regardless of whether her body experienced pleasure from what was being done to her, then they needed to find a male who could do the job. His head turned to the blond demon whose ineptitude got them into this mess to begin with. "Then Jackal will have to do."

Jackal cringed as he looked at Lucy's nude body. "Nothing personal, but… No."

"Are you refusing?" Mard Geer sneered.

"I  _am_  part canine. I'm pretty sure humans have something against interspecies mating. And considering I'm  _all jackal_  from the waist down, I doubt she'll be too happy about getting fucked by me."

"You don't need to have sex with her," Mard Geer said. "Just pleasure her. You have a mouth."

"Look at my fucking teeth!" Jackal snarled, baring all of his sharp, pointed teeth. "Would you want my mouth anywhere near your dick?!"

"That is vile," he said.

"Point!" Jackal crossed his arms over his chest. "And before you even think about it, Keyes is a skeleton. That's asking for her to be seriously traumatized."

"Franmalth is…" Seilah shivered. "No one should be subjected to that."

"Ezel's just as likely to kill her," Kyoka added, crossing her arms in thought. She stomped on Lamy's back again when the smaller demon tried to wriggle away.

"Tempester's a no-go, too," Jackal sighed. "He'd probably kill her with those anti-magic particles on accident."

Mard Geer's eyes slid closed. "You have got to be kidding me," he muttered.

"Too bad Silver's gone," Seilah sighed. "He would have been perfect."

"Uh, he was a corpse," Jackal said. "And her friend's dad or something."

"So?" Kyoka snorted.

"Humans don't fuck corpses either! They literally fuck  _other humans_!" Jackal turned along with Kyoka and Seilah, all three of them grinning over at Mard Geer. He didn't like that look one bit. "You're the most human one here!" he said, smirking. "Well, where it counts, at least."

Mard Geer turned his attention away from his smiling subordinates, and looked at the human in his grasp. His eyes honed in on the red splotches on her face and chest that hadn't been there mere minutes ago. Her honey eyes were unfocused, hazy. She'd long since stopped trying to get away from him. He was positive that this was what the humans called  _karma_.

Her condition had been worsening by the second, and here he'd been trying to reason with the others and pass this duty along to someone else. He let go of her face and watched as she didn't even try to balance herself. Lucy simply crumpled to the floor in a nearly lifeless heap.

"Very well," he said. "It would not do for our allies to discover that we failed to administer treatment." This duty fell to him. As the leader for his guild of demons, Mard Geer was responsible for this human girl's life. And if this was the only option to save her from Lamy's machinations, then he would do it.

Lamy's jaw dropped when Mard Geer shrugged off his fine black jacket, letting it simply fall to the floor. She stared in horror as his fingers deftly sent the buttons on his shirt flying through the holes, and he removed that as well.

Seilah and Jackal moved closer and worked together to pick Lucy up. They laid her sideways on the nearby examination table, right next to the Book of E.N.D. so Mard Geer would still be within arm's reach of it. Her limp legs hung off the side, and he let his gaze trail over her glistening skin, pausing when he noticed the way her hips jutted out just a little. He knew Lucy was barely coherent, but that really didn't matter.

They didn't have a choice anymore.

"You might be right," Seilah said. "If you just lick here…" She lifted one of Lucy's legs, and brushed her finger along the blonde's folds. Her finger dipped inside only slightly. "Put your fingers here…"

Mard Geer watched intently as Lucy writhed on top of the table.

"That can't be right," Jackal said with a scowl. He leaned down, then tilted his head. "Roll her onto her stomach."

Seilah shrugged and did as he'd said.

"Oh, yeah. No, she's right." He didn't touch Lucy, but he pointed to the slick folds Seilah had been toying with. "That's the one you fuck. Don't touch this one." His finger shifted higher and pointed to her asshole. He shrugged and chuckled while looking at Seilah's unamused expression. "What? I do it doggy style."

"You would," Seilah snorted.

"I have done this before," Mard Geer ground out.

"You've had sex with a human?" Kyoka asked, shuddering when he glared at her.

"Human anatomy is not that different," he said. He took a step closer, waiting as Seilah rolled Lucy onto her back again. He planted his hands on either side of her thin waist, then leaned over to look into her suddenly wide, terrified eyes. "You are not a virgin, are you?"

' _No… Wait, is he gonna…'_

Mard smirked down at her. "It will make the pain go away," he said. "I doubt you will be able to think of much shortly."

"W-Wait," Lucy whimpered. He reached down and hooked his arms beneath her legs.

"You do wish for the pain to go away, do you not?" he asked as his fingers slid along her silken thighs, higher until he reached her hips. His touches were light, gentle. Far more gentle than he would have been otherwise, but he was trying to make sure she  _wasn't_  in pain. And he was positive that, if he wasn't extremely careful with her fragile human body, he would kill her.

Lucy nodded quickly, her eyelids fluttering closed. His lips turned down slightly when her head lolled to the side.

"It's too late," Lamy cackled. "I bet her brain's already fried."

He ignored the shocked gasps from the demons around him when he knelt on the floor and set her legs on his shoulders. Mard Geer had no time to waste.  _"Can you still hear me?"_

" _... Yes,"_ came the faint, echoing reply from the human on the table.

He kept his attention on the shaky, shallow rise and fall of her chest as his lips drew closer to her sex. She was still breathing, but not by much. His warm breath fanned over her, and her body twitched. On his next inhale, he could smell her. Past the scent of the ethernano-rich liquid she'd been soaking in for two days, her scent was there. His eyes slid closed, as he breathed her in. Morning dew and lilies.

" _You smell divine."_

" _... you smell… better…"_

A soft smile barely lifted the corners of his lips moments before he brought them to her sex. He wasted no time in sending his tongue out to delve between her slick folds. At that first bit of contact, Lucy's body bowed from the steel tabletop, and she cried out in ecstasy.

"What?!" Lamy screeched.

She was surprisingly sweet as his tongue speared into her again and again. It took a little work to keep her hips still as she began writhing under his ministrations, but he didn't mind. As long as she wasn't in pain. As long as this was helping her.

' _... so good!'_

The decadence dancing along his taste buds intensified, and he brought one hand back around her leg to plunge two fingers into her as his lips and tongue ravaged her pearl. He pumped them slowly at first, feeling out the warmth and wetness deep within her. He was careful with each slow thrust until she whimpered and her legs spread wider.

' _More… so good…'_

She let out a long moan as his teeth gently grazed her clit. He heard her hands shift over the table, and grinned against her sex.  _"Do not touch my hair, human."_

Lucy whimpered, the sound nothing more than a breathy plea for the release that was quickly building, tightening her muscles one by one. He watched as her hands moved higher, up to her breasts. Had he known she would be satisfied so easily by having the large mounds teased, he would have done that instead. Still, as his fingers moved faster, suddenly pounding into her weeping core, and he gave her clit one last, long suck, she let out a scream that could have woken the dead. Her core tightened around his fingers, trying to milk them dry. With a devious grin, he scissored them within her. Lucy's back arched and she cried out again.

Oh, she was definitely sensitive then.

This could work in his favor.

He pulled his fingers from her sex and stood, staring down at her flushed cheeks and half-lidded eyes.

"Damn," Jackal breathed. "That was quick."

"Indeed," Kyoka said, her eyes wide and slightly glazed over.

Lucy smiled when she finally found Mard Geer's face in the blurry wash of her surroundings. The pain was gone. It didn't hurt anymore, and she wanted so badly to thank him for not taking things too far. Was it embarrassing? Oh, absolutely, but at least he'd…

" _Not again… No!"_

Mard Geer frowned at the sudden thoughts coming from the blonde. Her smile faded until she was biting at her lips to keep from screaming. Had the pain really only been in hiding for a short period of time?

This wouldn't do.

That meant he would need to do something more to stop the pain. He needed to completely overload her senses with pleasure. It wasn't impossible, but it would take some work. And some patience on his part. Because he wouldn't be able to stop. There was no way he could falter, even for a moment, if he was going to help her.

"It will not be so simple," he said softly. Mard Geer leaned over her again, bringing his hand to her flushed cheek. "Look at me."

"H-Help… me," she sniffled. "Please…"

He nodded. "I will," he said. "This will be taken care of." He could feel her legs trembling as he reached down and loosened his belt, then the closures on his pants. He kicked off his shoes moments before his pants fell down to the floor. He sucked in a sharp breath when he felt her glistening sex brush against him. That was… much more arousing than he'd anticipated. The heat. The desire pouring off of her. He was more than ready to sink into her and ravish her for hours.

"And there's Mard's ass," Jackal sighed, crossing his arms over his chest.

"You wouldn't seriously lower yourself to fuck a human!" Lamy screeched. "What kind of demon are you?!"

"Your king," Mard Geer said. He lined himself up, and pressed forward slowly, sinking into her heat and barely suppressing a low, satisfied groan once his hips met with hers. Normally, he would never let other demons be present while he was in the throes of passion, but this was different. He needed to know if Lamy would let anything more slip about Lucy's condition. And they didn't have time to wait for him to dig it out of her head.

"Oh, God," Lucy moaned, her head tipping back.

"I am a demon," he said, rolling his hips and pulling a keening cry from her lips. "You should avoid calling out for God." He kept his thrusts slow, measured, making sure not to hurt her. It seemed he really didn't need to do much, as he listened to her pleasured cries rise in volume. Her hips bucked against him, and he found his hands trailing up her slim waist to cup her full breasts.

"You should let that whore die!" Lamy bellowed as his fingers teased the darkening buds of Lucy's nipples.

Kyoka's foot crashed down on her head. "Don't cause her any pain," she said. "If you hurt her, it will counteract what you're trying to do."

A scowl nearly turned down his lips. That just wouldn't do at all. Instead of roughly pinching her nipples between his fingers, twisting with just enough pressure to make her howl in pained pleasure, he only allowed the pads of his thumbs to brush across them. He had to change too much of what he preferred, and if this kept up, then the slick heat he was buried in wouldn't be able to keep him aroused enough to continue. Of course, he could probably make due with just his mouth and fingers, as he'd suggested to Jackal, but deep down… he wanted more.

"Oh, fuck!" Lucy flew over the edge with him buried deep inside her, causing Mard Geer's breath to catch. Feeling the way her sex tightened around him, clenched, released, clenched again, had him rolling his hips just a little faster. She could take it. He was sure of it. Based on how her back arched, pushing her breasts more firmly into his kneading grasp, Mard Geer knew he was right. She wanted more, and he was definitely willing to give it to her.

Jackal walked around the edge of the table, peering down at Lucy's flushed, smiling face and closed eyes. His snout twitched. "Humans like kissing," he said, glancing at Mard Geer. "I've seen them do it a lot."

"Jackal, do you not have something else that requires your attention?" Mard Geer's hips rolled, pushing himself deeper as he pulled her leg up onto his shoulder. The sudden adjustment had a guttural moan spilling past Lucy's lips. He had to fight not to watch the way her breasts bounced with each thrust. Not while they weren't alone.

But he could change that.

Jackal yelped when vines covered in thorns slithered up from the metal grate Lucy had been lying on, then whipped at his back.

"Leave," Mard Geer said. His vines snapped at Jackal again, then twice across Lamy's sneering face. "All of you."

He didn't need to look back to know that, after only a few seconds, he and Lucy were completely alone. He was free to do with her as he pleased. He could touch her, enjoy the feel of her soft, supple human skin. His head shifted to run his cheek along her slender ankle.

"Perfection," he breathed as she cried out again.

His gaze honed in on the delicate snarl lifting her upper lip. Jackal's comment swirled around in his head, piquing his curiosity. Kissing someone on the lips was such a… human thing. Demons didn't kiss. And yet…

His thrusts slowed as he reached down and wrapped a hand around the back of her neck. She didn't seem uncomfortable in the slightest over her leg still being perched on his shoulder, even as he dragged her up to sit. Her unfocused eyes landed on his face, and he waited only a moment before bringing his lips to hers. It was gentle at first. Just their lips pressed together. And then she gasped against his mouth, and her tongue brushed lightly across his lower lip.

Why would she want to lick him? Her soft hum against his lips was surprising. He wasn't aware she would enjoy this kissing thing so much. But then, she surprised him further by tangling her hands in his hair, pushing her fingers through his ponytail and scraping her nails against his scalp. His lips parted as he tried to draw back, to tell her that she was never to touch his hair again.

But Lucy lunged forward, and her tongue speared between his lips. The sudden assault on his senses as her tongue curled around his, luring it into a sensual dance the likes of which he'd never before experienced, had his hips surging forward with enough force that he questioned whether her sudden keening cry was one of pain.

"Fuck me," she rasped, kissing him with more fervor than before. A low groan bubbled up in his throat, and he desperately kneaded her overly sensitive flesh as his hips snapped forward again.

* * *

He snarled against her lips as sweat dripped down his spine. But Mard Geer couldn't find it in himself to care. He didn't mind that he'd been buried between her legs for several hours. At some point, he'd tired of the same position standing beside the table and had crawled onto the table with her.

He didn't think he'd ever grow tired of the way her smaller hands pawed at him. She couldn't stop touching him, kneading every inch of his flesh that she could reach, nipping at his lips between harsh, bone-shaking kisses.

And no matter how many times he brought Lucy to the precipice and sent her catapulting into the heavens, she still begged him for more.

His eyes flashed with excitement when she reached up and removed the tie in his hair. The deep purple waves danced along her flesh, causing her to writhe beneath him as her fingers buried themselves in his hair once again. He questioned whether he was hurting her - was her human body to fragile to take this sort of punishment for so long? - until she dragged his head down to her breast.

He needed no further prompting. His lips locked onto her pebbled nipple, and he brought his hand higher to tease her unattended peak.

She trembled beneath him, her legs locking around his pistoning hips and pulling him into her harder than before. "Oh, Mard!" she moaned. "Yes! Just like that!"

Just hearing his name from her swollen lips had his skin tingling. Never in all his years had someone butchered his name in his presence without facing his wrath. But her…

He groaned against her sweat-slicked flesh and bit down on her breast as he poured more power into his hips. He wanted to hear her say it again. For hours. For eons.

He would do anything in his power to have her say his name just like this until her dying breath.

* * *

Jackal yawned and scratched his belly as he stumbled away from his plush bed, through his darkened room, and toward his door. He needed to piss something fierce, and he'd been up most of the night with Seilah and Ezel, betting on how much longer Mard Geer would be holed up in the laboratory with Lucy. By the time he'd seen the clock that said it was nearing two in the morning, Jackal had called it a night.

Honestly, he'd grown tired of staring at Mard Geer's ass and listening to the way Lucy moaned nearly incoherently, after they hit the five hour mark. And still, he'd stayed and watched for another four hours. The poor girl didn't get a reprieve once.

He kind of pitied her.

Jackal cringed. He really hoped that she was going to be alright. They'd all been so preoccupied with making sure her brain didn't turn to fucking pudding, he wasn't sure if anyone had taken the time to look at her leg and make sure she'd actually been healed.

What if it hadn't worked - what if Lamy hadn't told them enough of the truth? - and Lucy went through this experience for nothing? It would kill him. He'd been the one to mess up so badly. It was his fault she'd gotten so hurt. And somehow, she'd still been able to smile at him as though he wasn't to blame in the slightest.

With a soft sigh, Jackal opened his bedroom door. He still needed to piss. And probably get something to eat. His golden eyes went wide at the sight right in front of him.

Mard Geer's pasty ass clenched at a steady rhythm as he pinned Lucy to the wall directly across from Jackal's bedroom. That was  _not_  what he wanted to see first thing in the morning. Not her legs dangling on either side of Mard Geer's pistoning hips. Not the way she buried her hands in his sweat-slicked plum hair.

"Oh, Mard!" she groaned. Fuck, her voice sounded so hoarse. It wasn't necessarily arousing, but it did have Jackal's ears lowering slightly. Dehydration was a very human thing, and he was positive that she needed to drink some water soon if her voice sounded so fucking rough.

"Lucy…" Mard Geer groaned and stole her breath away with a desperate kiss to her swollen, pleading lips.

Still, he ignored Mard Geer's pale ass in favor of looking more closely at Lucy's leg. And then Jackal smiled. No stitches, no scarring, no wounds to be found. She was going to be just fine… assuming the Demon King would get out from between her legs.

" _Walk away, Jackal, or I will force you to see things that will ensure you never close your eyes again."_

He blanched as Mard Geer's voice in his head sent ice travelling through his veins. He didn't make threats lightly, and he always followed through on them. "Ope, would you look at that?" he asked aloud, even as Lucy's keening cry echoed down the hallway. "Hangnail. Better… deal with that."

He backed up into his room and closed the door, locking it for good measure. That was pointless, though. They wouldn't try to come into his room.

It was while he went back to bed and collapsed on the plush cushion that he winced at the fullness in his bladder. Damnit. He still had to pee.

Mard Geer was going to kill him if he pissed in the corner again. Even if this time wasn't his fault, because he couldn't get to a bathroom, because that bastard was taking up the hallway with his human fucking self, Jackal would just have to hold it and hope that they moved on soon. Of course, he could just blow a hole in his wall and piss out of it, but that would just get him into more trouble. Destruction of property that required reconstructing whole walls was much higher on Mard Geer's shit list and some piss on the floor. That could be cleaned with towels and some solvent to get rid of the smell.

The last thing he wanted was to chance pissing on Mard Geer's garden again. Jackal shuddered when vague flashes of the beating he'd gotten came roaring to life. No, he'd much rather have his nose rubbed in his own fucking urine.

His golden gaze slid over to the corner he'd marked a decade prior, and he nearly whined. Damnit, now he really wanted to pee there.

* * *

Lucy wasn't sure when they'd managed to return to Mard Geer's bedroom. She wasn't sure of a lot of things, aside from the subsiding pain and his soft lips trailing over her flesh while his fingers toyed with her aching sex.

God, she was tender. He seemed to know it, too, because after her last orgasm, he'd laid her on the bed and started kissing every inch of her body. Everywhere from the roots of her hair, down to her toes. His lips and tongue and - occasionally - his teeth seemed to be on a mission to steal the few brain cells she knew hadn't been damaged.

This was so different than anything she'd experienced before. Not just his stamina - though, she did briefly wonder how long they'd been doing this - but the tenderness he showered her with. For once, she felt treasured in a man's embrace. Every brush of his fingers over her trembling thighs or beneath her heaving breasts was gentle, careful.

She was able to open her eyes though, after spending far too much time unable to handle the bright lights around them without feeling as though her retinas were being burned with a magnifying glass in the sun. And when she did, Lucy found his face hovering inches above her own.

Lucy could feel it. She was nearly out of the woods. She didn't remember much of what had been talked about in the laboratory, but she did remember the pain. And she knew for a fact that Mard Geer had been doing everything in his power to redirect her overworked nerves, to send more intense signals to her brain than her pain receptors could manage, so she wouldn't become a vegetable.

She took a shaky breath when his slender fingers slid from core and down her inner thigh. Then right back up. Except he skipped over that special little eden between her legs and massaged her hips, her waist, and up to her breasts again.

Did that mean he was a breast man?

"I favor hips," he rasped. His hands slid down to her hips and lightly squeezed. "But you derive more pleasure from your breasts."

Lucy smiled and leaned up just slightly, capturing his lips in a slow kiss. After however much time they'd been together, he already knew her body this well… She shouldn't have been surprised by it. Her throat was so hoarse, she would be surprised if she even had the ability to speak right then.

But when he drew away from her lips, she nearly pouted. His kisses were heavenly.

He let out a soft, airy chuckle. Just the sound had her insides twisting with something foreign. Mard Geer pressed tender kisses down the center of her chest, pausing at her navel to circle it with his tongue. She gasped as he kept moving south and finally breathed against her slick sex.

"Fuck, don't stop," she whimpered, grimacing when her voice cracked.

"You need a break," he said. "Your human body cannot withstand this." Still, his tongue slid out and teased between her folds with slow, measured flicks.

But she needed it. She didn't want the pain to come back. And sure, she was feeling more like herself, and less like she'd bathed with electric eels and injected razor blades into each of her pores. Her head and chest weren't burning anymore. But she didn't want to chance it. Something still felt off to her. Maybe it had nothing to do with what had happened because of Lamy's meddling.

"It will make things worse for you," he said. Her back arched as his lips closed around her swollen sex in an open-mouthed kiss. Her head lolled to the side. God, she was tired. So, so tired. And still, she didn't want him to stop. And she didn't want to stop touching him. There was something so titillating about the thought of being able to clutch herself to his lithe body. It was taboo. He was more than just a demon. He was someone who had a vetted interest in her abilities as a Celestial mage. She knew that much about him. But that was really it.

Well, he also enjoyed taking naps. And cuddling with book plushes. And using her as a body pillow.

And he was apparently a genius in the sack.

Mard Geer's tongue circled her entrance slowly, and she writhed when his hot breath brushed over her. "I suppose I can cater to your desires," he chuckled. "Just this once."

"So kind," she rasped.

He looked up the length of her body, and when their eyes met, she found it just a little harder to breathe. "Only when it's deserved," he said. Her head tipped back as he languidly licked up the length of her slit.

* * *

Mard Geer hadn't known that it was possible for a human woman to sleep while in the throes of passion. Apparently, it was entirely possible, because Lucy had done just that for about an hour while his face was buried between her legs. And when he'd stopped, her hands buried themselves in his hair and pushed his head back down between her legs with so much force that he very nearly questioned whether he'd chipped a tooth.

But he'd still done what was needed of him. And he really wasn't complaining, not when he heard the soft whimpers and mewls coming from her lips as she slumbered.

He also hadn't considered the fact that, because she was human, she needed to sleep regularly. As a demon, it really wasn't a requirement for him. He just enjoyed napping. And he did get tired in the middle of the day, but… that wasn't the point. He could survive for months without sleep if he needed to.

He just didn't want to.

A strangled moan barely slipped out of her and her thighs tightened around his head as she found her release. And then she was limp. Not quite lifeless, but he could tell by the steady beat of her heart and her slow, even breaths that she was entirely unconscious.

Maybe that meant she was going to be alright. He wouldn't have to do this with her anymore.

He crawled up the length of her body and let his heavy gaze trail over her glistening stomach, her full breasts that still had the faintest pink marks from when he'd gotten a little too excited and bit her.

It wasn't often that Mard Geer was left unsure of himself. But he was right then. He more than likely didn't need to continue pleasing her, but something in the back of his mind wanted him to do just that.

He wanted to have her writhing in his grasp for hours. Days, even. He wanted her to say his name like she had been only an hour prior.

He even wanted her to touch his hair again, to comb her fingers through it and soothe the tension from his muscles with nothing more than her nails moving in gentle circles over his scalp.

This wasn't normal. It was wholly unacceptable for him to be thinking such things. Especially when it involved a human. Most especially when it involved  _this_  human in particular.

And yet, as he mentally directed his rare thorn-free vines to wrap around her biceps and forearms, her thighs and calves, to coil around her stomach like an earthy, floral corset… As he sat back and watched her being lifted above the bed, and saw how her head dangled and her bright blonde hair brushed against the bunched up blanket… Mard Geer remembered what he'd said to Lamy.

" _You subjected my human to undue torture, in direct opposition of my orders to have her healed quickly!"_

"My human," he breathed as his fingers skittered along her knees. His vines spread her legs, giving him an uninhibited view of her in the dim lighting in his room. "I called you that, didn't I?"

Lucy didn't respond.

He glanced toward the clock and grinned to himself. Nearly twenty hours, they'd been at this, and he still had yet to find his own release. He wondered what she would say about that. He had done this for her, after all.

As far as any of the other demons were concerned, Mard Geer was simply fulfilling his duty as their guild master in ensuring their alliance with Fairy Tail - quite possibly the only guild that could decimate the demons he ruled - didn't disintegrate. He was keeping their Celestial mage alive the only way he could.

But there was more. There  _had_  to be something more. He knew it when she groaned at the feeling of his vines tightening their hold on her - the sound equal parts arousal and confusion. He directed another vine to loop around the back of her head and lift it so he could see her eyelids fluttering as she regained consciousness.

"I trust you slept well," he said.

"Mmm," she hummed. Her eyes finally slid open to find Mard Geer hungrily devouring her with his gaze alone as his hand wrapped around the base of his cock. "I'm sorry… you had to do that."

"It is of no consequence," he said. "But I do believe I should be repaid for this kindness."

"Oh?" She gasped when his flared head brushed against her slit. "I-In what way?"

Their eyes locked as he pushed into her. Now that he didn't need to worry about hurting her, he was going to enjoy himself to the fullest extent possible with her frail human body. He reached out for two vines wrapped around her thighs, then swung her away from his aching cock. Lucy's eyes widened as she swung back, and he was buried in her to the hilt once again.

"In this way," he groaned. He swung her again, curling his hips just slightly every time they were joined. The way her body bowed when his pelvis ground against her overly sensitive clit was enough to have Mard Geer snarling and slamming her onto his throbbing cock again and again. "I did not allow myself the luxury of release. You have left me very… frustrated."

She whimpered and bit her lips as the vines creaked and tightened around her marginally. Not enough to cut off circulation, but just enough to make her question whether he would use them to crush her ribs and collapse her lungs.

"Scream for me," he growled. His skin tingled when she did just as he'd ordered with no hesitation.

' _I want him to cum… So bad… I wanna feel it…'_

The sudden stream of thoughts coming from her was unexpected enough that he pulled out and forced her to sit upright, suspended in his vines. "What?" he panted.

"Huh?"

"You…" Articulation was his strong suit, and yet… words failed him. And even though he could see the exhaustion darkening the skin beneath her eyes, and how stray fly-away blonde hairs stuck out at strange angles, she smiled. And it was that small, knowing turn to her lips that had him grinning in return as he lifted her into the air.

"M-Mard?!" Lucy gasped as his vines pulled her limbs to their limit, just far enough that she would feel her muscles stretching, but not enough to hurt her. His grin stayed in place as he laid down on his back and looked up at her. Spread eagle, right above him. And then his vines adjusted her until his cock pushed against her weeping sex. "Fuck, Mard…"

He lowered her slowly, lifted her with no urgency. He wanted to make sure this wasn't too much for her to handle. But when she moaned his name again, when her hips twitched only slightly with the minimal space she'd been given, he knew.

He thrust up into her with reckless abandon after that, watching as the vines shifted to bring her down more forcefully. "Yes, Lucy. That's it!"

Lucy's head tipped back as she was brought flush against his hips, and the vines ground her against him. When he reached up and roughly pinched her nipples, she screamed just the way he'd wanted so many hours ago. And that one sound was all it took for his balls to tighten.

"Yes!" Mard Geer gasped.

His release shot up his length, sending molten heat soaring through his veins.

"Fuck, yes!" he groaned. "O-Oh, Lucy!"

As the first shot left him, he trembled. Hours upon hours of pent-up frustration seeped away in mere moments. And when it was all said and done, she was still there, smiling down at him with a bright blush on her cheeks and his vines sliding away from her arms and legs and stomach. Once they were gone, she collapsed onto his chest.

He didn't mind one bit that she showered him with one slow, passionate kiss after another. His arms wrapped around her waist, holding her closer than before while his tongue teased her lips apart.

" _Mard, you taste so good."_

" _You taste better."_

* * *

Lucy smiled as she rounded the corner and peeked into the lab before entering. Jackal was there, just as she'd suspected, and her head tilted with curiosity as he picked up a trash bin and carried it toward the exit. He paused, staring at her with suddenly wide eyes. "Hey, Jackal."

"... Hey," he muttered.

Her lips turned down when she saw his ears lower as he glanced off to the side. "What's wrong?"

"I'm sorry," he said. "About you getting hurt. And then what Lamy did. And for what you had to do just to get healed the right way…"

Lucy giggled and, without thinking, laid a gentle hand on top of his head, scratching between his ears. His gaze shot to hers, and his brows drew together. "I forgive you for the things that were in your control," she said. "Anything else that happened… You don't have to apologize for that."

She bit her lips when her hand drew back and his head followed.

"Jackal," she laughed. "What are you doing?"

"Scratches," he chuckled. She'd never before seen the way he looked with a light dusting of pink across his cheeks. It was kind of adorable.

"Well, then," she said, her own smile widening as she scratched behind one ear with more enthusiasm. She nearly laughed aloud when Jackal's tail swished from one side to the other and his eyes slid closed.

"You should refrain from spoiling him."

Her smile melted when Mard Geer's voice sounded behind her, causing Jackal to lock up. That just wouldn't do. She was having fun seeing this very canine side of the demon she'd been working with. "You hush," she said over her shoulder. "I'm having fun."

Jackal stared, his jaw slack and his golden eyes nearly bulging out of their sockets at the way Lucy had spoken to the Demon King walking closer. How had she not been torn to shreds by his thorns yet? He took a step back once Mard Geer stopped at her side. The scratches weren't worth it. Not if he was going to get this deadly stare in return while Mard Geer's thin fingers tapped an agitated rhythm on the Book of E.N.D.

Lucy sighed and peeked into the trash can still clutched in his hand. "Oh, what's that?" she asked.

"Refuse," Mard Geer said.

She reached into the basket and pulled out a piece of black ceramic. "Did someone break something?"

"It is not important," Mard Geer said. "I have spoken with Makarov. He is aware of your impending return."

Lucy turned and smiled up at Mard Geer. Bile rose in the back of Jackal's throat when she lifted a hand to the lapel of his jacket. "Thank you," she whispered. "I appreciate it."

He nodded and turned, leaving Lucy unsure of herself while he walked away. Had she done something wrong?

"Don't worry about him," Jackal sighed. "He's just pissy because it was his favorite coffee cup."

Lucy's attention returned to the broken ceramic pieces. Why wouldn't he just fix them? Why would he throw something away when it clearly meant a great deal to him? If this really was his favorite mug, then she just couldn't understand why he'd give up on it so easily.

"He broke it because of Lamy, y'know," Jackal said. His head tilted to one side at the sight of Lucy frowning at the trash. "You remember?"

Finally, she nodded. Lucy did remember how she'd been sitting on the exam table and how he'd been talking to the gathered demons. She remembered him losing his everloving mind and beating the daylights out of Lamy. And she remembered the cup he'd been holding suddenly shattering.

" _You subjected my human to undue torture, in direct opposition of my orders to have her healed quickly!"_

A small smile tugged at her lips while she reached into the trash and picked up as many ceramic pieces as she could find. She paused when she found several pieces that, when put together, said  _Cthulhu is my spirit animal_. That was adorable.

"What are you doing?" Jackal asked. He turned when Lucy walked past him into the lab. She laid the pieces on a nearby exam table, then started carefully trying to stick them together. "Do humans always play with trash?"

"You hush," she laughed, rolling her eyes.

* * *

The following day, Mard Geer woke up from his nap to find a pale pink box with a gaudy lime green bow sitting next to his pillow. His brows drew together as he sat up. This was most definitely an odd occurrence. Still, he pinched the end of the bow between his thumb and forefinger and pulled at the ribbon until it unraveled.

He had issues with mysterious boxes. He questioned his sanity entirely when his finger flicked the edge of the lid, opening the box.

There were no explosions. No glittery messes. No puppets named Jack who popped out on a spring and startled him into decimating a nearby window with his vines.

Instead, all that he found inside was matching lime green tissue paper. He pulled the contents out of the box entirely, tore through the paper, then stared at the mended coffee mug in his hands with golden veins running across the surface. Every crack was filled in. The clear coat over the mug had been redone, so it was entirely smooth.

Inside the mug, he found a small folded paper, and opened it.

_There is beauty in that which is broken. I hope you'll come visit soon.  
-Lucy_

He definitely wanted to go and see her. Maybe he could repay her kindness with one of his own. A coffee mug that encompassed just who she was, but might also make her laugh. Maybe something with a unicorn. She seemed like the type to enjoy those. And as Mard Geer Tartaros sat in his bed, running his thumb over the gold filling she'd used that ran across the cartoon chibi Cthulhu, he smiled while picturing her face.

* * *

 

_**.The End.** _

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So I have a couple notes!
> 
> 1\. Jackal's very canine bottom half is only used in this story. He has man-parts in my JackaLu stories. I wanted to make that clear now. Unless stated, his business is just like a human male.
> 
> 2\. I worked very closely with a friend of mine to help edit her first novella. The release date is August 15th, and I'd love it if you guys could go and support her work. Here's the link for you. It's available across multiple e-reading platforms.  
>  _books2read.com/u/3npZre_
> 
> 3\. We're working together to create some really fun stuff to celebrate the release of her novella, so stay tuned for more information!


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